Beautiful Kamala and awful Patong

Phuket Travel Blog

This is my last day in Thailand and I don't have any specific plans. Tomorrow I'll be leaving... It is a sad thought. Now is 9 am and I'm still in bed. I should get up.

Once having breakfast I feel a lot better. The beetle in the hallway has dissapeared and I'm just loving my toast and eggs. It is again a wonderful day and it is so hard to imagine that tomorrow all this will be just a memory. But no more time to loose. I say goodbye to the waiters and start of on a walk to Kamala. When I got my introduction on the first day here in Phuket, the tourrep told me Kamala is way to far to walk. But I can see Kamala from upon the beach in front of the hotel, and it doesn't look that far of.

Beautiful Kamala

Besides, the stupid guide also pointed out our very own hotel wrong on the map, so she isn't a good reference. I walk under the hot sun, enjoying the bright light and the amazing views over the sea. After a good 30 minutes, around 10:30 am, I arrive at Kamala. Eat this, tourrep!

Kamala is beautiful. On the end most close to the hotel there are many little longtailboats waiting to be hired by tourists. They lay so picturesque there in the water, them alone are worth the walk up here. Further on the real beach starts. There are many little beach huts where you can hire a chair and a parasol. As I don't know which vendor to choose I keep on walking. When almost at the far and of the coastline I notice there is a guy strolling in front of me for quite some time now. He is alone, just like me, and clearly not checking out the renting stalls.

Beautiful Kamala

He is going straight up to somewhere. That makes me assume he has found a cheap and suitable place to spend the day, so I decide to look no further and to follow him. A little later, as I expected, he pops down at a bar, and so do I.

The view is amazing here. Just in front of me there is a little piece of water bordered of to keep jet skis and boats of from the "swimming zone". But they are useless really, as there is no jet ski nor boat to be seen. The sea is perfectly quite, and so is the beach. Not even half of the chairs are rented and it turns out most tourist stay at the other side of Kamala, to save the walk up here. Or that is what I think is the reason. I expected beaches in touristy Phuket to be more crowded, so I'm looking for a reason why this isn't so. But whatever, I'm glad I came to the beach today.

Beautiful Kamala

I've been doubting for a second, wondering if I should stay at the pool in the hotel (were I haven't swam yet) or to come here. But then I looked through my window and saw the waves and the water. Choice made.

It was a good choice. I've put myself in the shade of two parasols, drink next to me, pure shores in front of me, quietness all around. I went swimming quite a lot to. Floating on my back watching the blue of the sky. Just lovely. At 3 pm I notice I might be a bit burned, which is strange as I've been in the shade for almost all the time. I've just been drying up in the sun for 10 minutes, that's all. But when I put my hand against my belly skin I can feel it glow, so I decide it might be better to return to the hotel. Besides, I got a bit bored after almost 5 hours on a beach chair.

Beautiful Kamala

The walk back to Aquamarine is harder, just because it's gotten warmer. I keep a slow pace, taking everything in. I know I wont see all this again any soon, so I got to say goodbye properly. Near the hotel I see a woman playing with her little girl. Instead of a dog or any normal pet, they have a huge owl with a string around its feet. The poor animal looks awful, and it sits their on the ground being entertainment. Every ones in a while the woman pulls the chains so the bird has to flap its wings to not fall over. The child seems to like it but I don't really do. Just after climbing the hill to the hotel in plain sun and being really thirsty, I don't stay watching for long. I really need some air conditioning right now.

After showering and again discovering that I am ones again burned a lot (floating around has given the same effect as snorkeling, but now on my front) I lay down in the bed for a second.

Beautiful Kamala

My glowing skin makes me feel ice cold, and even with the fan of I'm freezing. So I get under the sheets to warm up a bit, but fall asleep quickly. I think I got a bit hit by the heat, for some reason. But when I wake up I feel a lot better and get changed to spend an evening in Patong. This is the only thing around that I still need to see, so I make it the last stop of my Thailand journey. Before dropping me of at one of the main streets, the taxi driver warns me about the cars and scooters here. "Be careful, people drunk, people drive, people hit you". I must look so naive, since literally everyone feels like giving me good advice. But I don't mind though. Rather meet friendly and helpful folks than others.

Beautiful Kamala

Patong is hell. I'm sorry to feel this way about it but I do. As soon as I start walking down the street vendors come up to me. Every two seconds, no kidding, some guy wants to shake hands. They all do the same "Were you from?" "Hello, do I know you" "Want to come in miss?". The taxi driver should have warned me for them. They are so pushy! I don't know if it is because I'm alone but they just won't give up trying. The first ten times I did actually reply to them "I'm from Belgium" "Not interested, thank you". But I gave up quickly. I swear, I can't stop for two seconds here. If I do, I get surrounded by people trying to sell me stuff. What is wrong with this place. Even when taking a picture, they just come up to you, stand in front you, showing you their shop. They piss me of, and after a good 15 minutes I don't try anymore to look friendly.

My feet enjoying the sun at Kamala :)

My good mood and intentions of making this a fine last night in Thailand are ruined. I feel terrible.

The heat in Patong is heavy, the city stinks and the noise is awful. So many cars and people. Drunk people in the bars, pushy people in the shops, unfriendly people in the restaurants. I planned to have dinner here but I've changed my mind. I'm no longer hungry. I flee the streets to get a chance to sit at peace for a second, so I get up to the beach. This is just next to one of the main roads, how exotic, and just next to the noise and the dirt. The sunset is nice but the view is not. Too many chairs, to many litter in the sand, to many boats and jet skis drifting away after a busy day. This place looks like a Spanish costa, and I hate it. I didn't mean to, but I'm fed up.

Beautiful Kamala

The sticky air has made my burned skin stir and the smog has made my head feel dizzy. I feel like shouting to those shopkeepers to shut the fuck up, but don't. Instead, I go to the first Tuk Tuk I see, hand him the address of my hotel, and get the hell out of Patong, after only an hour. The round trip has cost me 600 Baht total, for an hour of horror and a spoiled mood. I feel like crying really. My last hours here are completely messed up. On the way back I pass the hotel were the couples are staying. It looks as fancy as can be, but they can have it. I've been regretting picking Aquamarine for a few shorts moments before, but no longer. If I needed to spend my holiday here, I would have gone insane. And now, I do understand what the minibus driver said about living in Patong and the people shouting through microphones.

Ugly Patong

How on earth did he manage to live here for ten full years? As I get closer to the hotel however, where the beaches look deserted and peaceful again, I feel myself getting a bit more relaxed.

Standing in front of the reception of the hotel, I decide to make the best of what's left of the night. I've seen this little bar at the beach just down the hill from the first day, but I haven't visited it yet. They have about 8 little tables on the sand, and a wooden stall where they make cocktails and sell food. This is the place from where I watched Kamala beach just after arriving here, and took my first picture of the clear water that I adore so much. It is peaceful here. Still sad I sit down at one of the tables, gazing over the water while it is getting dark. I tell the waitress I just want a drink, as my stomach doesn't feel like eating anymore.

Beautiful sunset at ugly Patong

It feels more like throwing up. Than suddenly someone comes to stand next to me. "Having dinner alone again?" I hear a voice say. As I look up it is the Australian guy I met yesterday, inviting me to join him and his wife ones more. This time I don't hesitate. As soon as I get my Tequila Sunrise I order a vegetarian dish too. The appetite is back.

Jason and Helen are lovely people really. We chat at length over our diner, which is just as the cocktails, splendid and cheap. They've been in Phuket for 2 days now, staying a bit more and then go to Bangkok for some time. They are taking the Phi Phi cruise tomorrow so I warn them about some people getting sick on the boat and tell my stories about the beautiful islands.

Beautiful sunset at ugly Patong

Then, when the topic changes to Patong, I get a chance to get all misery of my back. Jason and Helen didn't feel that bad about the city, but they did understand what I was talking about. Than Jason told a hilarious story about one of his adventures in a "massage" salon that turned out to be something else. I can't possibly retell it the way he did it so I won't give it a try, but it was great. We've been chatting for the rest of the night, about all kinds of things. Before returning to the hotel, the waiter of the bar got a 50 Baht tip from me. He and his little restaurant really made my last night in Thailand transfer from nightmare to heaven, so it was worth it. The great company, the majestic location, the quite surroundings, the exotic cocktails and the good real Thai food were the perfect ending of an unforgettable trip.